Scripture

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The Church, the Year of Faith, and Christian Unity : Ut Omnes Unum Sint (That they all may be One)

The Lord never said : “You are Peter, and I will make you the leader amongst thousands of churches and other leaders, and they can have their own customs and choose what they believe in, and we can also do what we like, and what we want.”

He did not say : “Peter, you will be one of the many, in a board of management of My ‘churches’, and that these churches were born from Me.”

No, what He truly said was :

“You are Peter, and on this Rock, I will build My Church (singular), and never will the powers of death overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven : whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven.”

For our Church is One, and all are united with the successor of St. Peter the Apostle, to whom God has entrusted to feed all of His sheep, and to whom He has entrusted the authority over all of the earth and mankind, the beloved people of God (‘whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven’), and that there is only One Body of Christ, all believing in Christ, and obeying the elders God has appointed over them, of which Peter and his successors are the chief shepherds, the chief elders, who then report to the very Chief Shepherd who will come again at the end of time.

For our faith in Christ is communal as it is personal. This is why we have our bishops, and our beloved Pope, Peter’s successor. For if not so, then all of us can just be our own priests, and just by thinking that we are saved by simply say, “Lord, Lord, I believe in you.”, and shutting ourselves from everyone else, caring only about our salvation.

No, not only will we not be saved by that way, we will be condemned by God, who will judge our ignorance and failure to live our faith by helping others around us, who are less fortunate, and need our help.

When a house is divided against itself, how can it stand and survive? When Satan is divided against himself, he will perish and not stand, just as what Christ said to the Pharisees when they accused Him of using the power of Beelzebub, Satan’s liutenant in casting out demons.

So, therefore, how can God’s Church stand if we are divided against ourselves? In order for us to stand the persecution of Satan in this world, we must first unite and gather our strength, that when Satan and his angels come to scourge God’s beloved people, we will be united as one against him, and as one Church, God will make us all righteous when He comes again in glory.

Let us pray therefore, that in this Year of Faith, our faith in God will ever be strengthened, and will never falter, and that most importantly we can live this faith and put in into action that will be pleasing to the Lord, by serving our fellow men, and thus spreading His Gospel, not just by our words, but by our own actions.

Let us also pray that Ut Omnes Unum Sint, God’s great wish, that all of His faithful may be One, will be accomplished, that every Christian, and everyone who believes in Christ, will all return to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, that is built by God, Christ Himself, on the rock of faith that is Peter. Amen!

 

+Ut Omnes Unum Sint, ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam+
(That they all may be One, for the greater glory of God)

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Saturday, 23 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (First Reading)

Deuteronomy 26 : 16-19

On this day, YHVH, your God commands you to fulfill these norms and these commandments. Obey them now and put them into practice with all your heart and with all your soul. Today YHVH has declared to you that He will be your God, and so you shall follow His ways, observing His norms, His commandments and His laws, and listening to His voice.

Today YHVH has declared that you will be His very own people even as He had promised you, and you must obey all His commandments. He, for His part, will give you honour, renown, and glory, and set you high above all the nations He has made, and you will become a nation consecrated to YHVH, your God, as He has declared.

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Friday, 22 February 2013 : Feast of Chair of St. Peter the Apostle (Additional Second Reading)

(This reading is used in important Masses on the Feast of Chair of Saint Peter, including Episcopal Ordinations)

2 Corinthians 5 : 13-21

Now, if I have spoken foolishly, let God alone hear; if what I have said makes sense, take it for yourselves. Indeed the love of Christ holds us and we realise that if He died for us all, all have died. He died for all so that those who live may live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again for them. And so from now on, we do not regard anyone from a human point of view; and even if we once knew Christ personally, we should now regard Him in another way.

For that same reason, the one who is in Christ is a new creature. For Him the old things have passed away; a new world has come. All this is the work of God who in Christ reconciled us to Himself, and who entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation. Because in Christ, God reconciled the world with Himself, no longer taking into account their trespasses and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

So we present ourselves as ambassadors in the name of Christ, as if God Himself makes an appeal to you through us. Let God reconcile you; this we ask you in the name of Christ. He had no sin, but God made Him bear our sin, so that in Him we might share the holiness of God.

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Friday, 22 February 2013 : Feast of Chair of St. Peter the Apostle (Scripture Reflection)

Today, one might ask, why do we celebrate the feast of a chair? Why the chair of St. Peter? As we all should know, that all dioceses in the world has Cathedrals, one in each diocese, and in the Cathedral, there is a special ‘chair’ that only the ordinary or the bishop of the diocese can sit on. This is because that chair is the Cathedra, the bishop’s throne or seat, which represents his authority, which is given from the Lord Himself.

Where does this authority come from? Right, you all should know indeed, that it came eventually, down the centuries and millenia from the early leaders of the Church, who themselves receievd that power and authority from the Apostles, whose leader is Peter, who was then known as Simon, son of Jonah, or Simon Bar-Jona, the fisherman.

Simon answered out of great courage and speak out the truth sincerely about Christ, who is indeed the Messiah and the Son of the living God, who has come to save the world, although maybe none at that time has yet to understand that He has to do this through His suffering and ultimately death on the cross. But indeed, for the great act of faith that Simon showed, Christ entrusted him with His authority and power, as His vicar on earth, simply through the words that He mentioned, that He will give Simon the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and He will build His Church, that is all the faithful in Him, united as one Body, on him as the foundation.

Hence, that is why Christ renamed Simon as Peter, whose Aramaic (the language spoken at the time of Jesus) origin was Kephas/Kepha, which means rock, that was then translated to Greek as Petros, and then to Latin as Petrus, which all means rock. The Gospel indeed has some pun to the word as Christ did say, “You are Peter and on this Rock…”, which one may interpret as the play on the word Petros/Petrus/Kepha, and there are those, who said that the rock does not refer to Peter at all.

No, this cannot be, since that Rock does refer to Peter, and why? It is because of his great faith in Christ, that is like a great rock, will become the most suitable foundation of His Church on this world, for Peter himself later on, as the leader of the Church, rooted himself firmly in Christ, even to his death in Rome.

It does not mean that Peter did not falter in his faith and dedication to the Lord. As everyone should know, that Peter was well-known for his betrayal of the Lord, even after he said during the Last Supper that he would never leave or abandon the Lord, but when Jesus was tried and mocked, and someone suspected Peter of being Christ’s accomplice, he denied Christ three times, out of fear and uncertainty, seeing that the Lord he has always believed in, has now been judged and soon to be sentenced to death.

Nevertheless, it is not Peter’s failures that we should focus on, but rather, what happens after, as he should indeed be a role model to all of us, that after whenever we fall, we must rise up again and rise up ever stronger than before, even stronger than before we fall. It was Peter who led the Apostles in the days after the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ, and it was to him that Christ asked, “Peter, do you love Me.”, also three times.

Just as we often heard indeed in the Bible that God is merciful and willing to forgive all who had erred but yet willing to fully turn themselves back towards Him again, the same thing was what Christ did to Peter. Peter knew that he had been forgiven, and he gave Christ the promise of undying and eternal love, and that he will never fail Him again as before. Christ then entrusted the care of all His sheep in this world, all those who believe in Him, in Peter, whom He then affirm as the leader of all the faithful, and His representative in this world.

It is at that point that Christ entrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and built His Church, which began on Pentecost, with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. It was Peter who defended Christ and gave a fiery speech, asking the people to believe in Christ, and caused many to convert to the cause of God, and therefore, marked the very beginning of the Church.

Through Peter, we have many of his successors, who are the Bishops of Rome. Why the Bishop of Rome? This is because, in the established tradition and the letters following the events of the New Testament, Peter would travel to Rome eventually and settled there, before being martyred by the Emperor Nero of the Roman Empire sometime in 67 AD, not long after the other great Apostle Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, who is also associated together with the Bishop of Rome.

St. Peter in his great humility, when he was about to be crucified, through which he will face his martyrdom, refused to be crucified in the same way as the Lord did, and thus chose to be crucified upside down. This is what we know now as the ‘upside-down’ cross, or the cross of St. Peter.

Many had misunderstood this ‘upside-down’ as the symbol of the Antichrist, when the Pope, for example Blessed Pope John Paul II utilised it on his chair during his visit to the Holy Land, which in fact is the symbol of his own authority as the successor of St. Peter, and the symbol of Peter’s humility in being crucified upside-down that he would not die the same way as Christ, as he felt unworthy to do so. Now that all of you know about this, tell those who has yet to know about this, that they too may know and not linger in falsehood, but remain in the truth.

The chair of St. Peter can be seen at the back of the High Altar below the famous Holy Spirit stained glass on the walls of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, which was built on the spot where St. Peter was buried after his martyrdom. This chair, which is armless, and made of wood and inlaid with precious metals, contains the materials from the original chair that was known to have been used by St. Peter himself when he was in Rome. In a sense, this was St. Peter’s cathedra, and thus, the very first seat of authority that was present in this world.

Many of the Bishops of Rome who succeeded Peter had been great Popes, and many too had been saints and great saints, contributing greatly to the growth of the Church of Christ to whom they are entrusted to, through Peter. Of course there are also some Popes who had been bad Popes, and were great sinners. We condemn what they did, which in one way or another have done bad to the Church of Christ and to the faithful, due to their failure to faithfully carry out the mission that has been entrusted by Christ to them through Peter.

The Popes, who are the Bishops of Rome, are human too, as St. Peter was, and therefore was also prone to sins and errors as other mankind are, but we had indeed gone a long way since St. Peter was entrusted with the keys of kingdom of heaven. After the Council of Trent, and the succeeding councils, the Church has rediscovered itself, and led by the Pope, who is the leader of all the faithful in Christ, we continue in our mission that Christ had given us, that is to spread the Gospel, the Good News to all, and to baptise everyone in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray for our Pope, the successor of St. Peter the Apostle, that he will continue to carry out his mission entrusted to Him by Christ, and use the authority he was given to unite all the faithful in Christ. Now that our Pope, our beloved Pope Benedict XVI has decided to step down due to ill health, we pray for him that God will continue to watch over him in his retirement, and we pray for whoever his successor as the Bishop of Rome, St. Peter’s successor, will be. It is out  of the same humility that our Pope has decided to step aside, because he felt that someone else can better fulfill the roles and mission entrusted to the Popes since St. Peter, just like Peter himself humbly asked to be crucified upside-down to not die the way Christ died for the salvation of the world.

St. Peter the Apostle, you to whom Christ entrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and upon whom He built His Church, pray for us, pray for our Pope Benedict XVI, your successor, and his successors, and pray for the new Coadjutor Archbishop of Singapore, Msgr. William Goh Seng Chye, who will be ordained today, and who will receive the authority given to him through the endless succession that came from you, and from Christ, who gave you the authority over the Church and the world. Pray for us, St. Peter. Amen.

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Friday, 22 February 2013 : Feast of Chair of St. Peter, the Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 16 : 13-19

After that, Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They said, “For some of them You are John the Baptist, for others Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “It is well for you, Simon Bar-Jona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven. And now I say to you : You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven : whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven.”

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Friday, 22 February 2013 : Feast of Chair of Saint Peter, the Apostle (Psalm)

Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

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Thursday, 21 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor (Scripture Reflection)

The Lord our God provides for all of us, and He cares for us. For He is our Father, the creator of all things in this universe. Therefore it is only fitting that He gives us all that we need, and no, those are not material goods and wealth, but love, His love, which fulfills us and make us whole in Him. All if we just simply ask Him, to open ourselves to Him who loves us. God is willing to give many things to us, but many times, we are simply not receptive to His approach and His outstretched hands. Even at other times we turned our back on God, and rejected His love and kindness to us, in favour of the pleasures and good things that the world has to offer us.

Indeed, the world does have many good things, and many of us are fortunate enough to have a comfortable life and enough in all things and material goods that we need to do so. However, many of us, especially those of us who are prosperous, increasingly in these recent years, are growing in their spiritual hunger, in the search of something that can satisfy their life. For material goods and wealth, although may bring joy at first, but it cannot continue to sustain our joy and happiness, not without the Lord as the centre of our life.

For life without God is ultimately empty. Men can gather as much money and wealth that they want, and then spend them as lavishly as they wish. However, as history has often told us, many of these people have no true happiness, since in dealing with their immense worldly possessions, they built for themselves the illusion of happiness, sustained by these wealth, and which blinded us not only to God, but also the plight of many among us who are indeed less fortunate.

Therefore, let us indeed aspire to become more like the Lord, who listens and who pays attention to those who come to Him, just as we are well received when we go and seek for Him in sincerity, and open the doors of His heart to us when we pray to Him in our hearts; Therefore, we too should make ourselves available and reachable to those around us, our friends, our relatives, those whom we do not know but need our help, and even those who hated us and persecuted us.

Let these people come to us, and when they ask, let us not turn them away, just as the Lord does not turn us away when we ask Him for mercy and favour. Open the door for them, and through us, let us be the channel of God’s love. Just as God’s love, grace, and blessing came to us, let us share these blessings, in whatever form, either material or even spiritual with those around us who are lacking. For as many as there are who still suffer from poverty and material deficiency, there are even more people in this world today, who suffer from the poverty of the soul, the emptiness of the soul, only curable by God Himself.

Let us endeavour to bring God to those who seek Him, and let us not deny them this chance, and therefore through us, God has made His work of redemption manifest, to bring the sacrifice of Christ on the cross into completion. Christ offered Himself for our sake that we can be saved, but there are still many who reject Him and reject His teachings.

Today, we commemorate the memorial of St. Peter Damien, was a well-known and respected Cardinal of the Church in the early medieval era, well known for his reform of the religious orders and monastic practices, and the priesthood in general. His great piety and humility, and constant acts of penitence showed his great quality in the faith, and especially important is the numerous writings attributed to him on the faith and the Church, and how these writings had considerable impacts on the later saints, which includes St. Francis of Assisi and other great medieval saints and doctors of the Church, which St. Peter Damian was one of them, a Doctor of the Church through his extensive and influential works on our Christian faith, helping to define the Church in the next centuries following his death.

Like St. Peter Damian too, we can follow in his footsteps and that of other great saints, whose great love for the Lord has made them to seek the Lord and ask Him for strength and perseverance to serve the people of God, and bring God’s love to them. We too can do so in our own ways, in our own daily lives, and among our own relatives, friends, and neighbours. Reach out and share with one another the love and faith you have in God. Remember that a light is not to be hidden, but to be put on a lampstand that all can see in its light. Let us bring light to everyone, through us, who has a share in the Light that is God, that all mankind will one day be united in Christ, in God who loves us dearly.

St. Peter Damian, pray for us, and pray for God’s holy Church in this world, for all the bishops, and for our Pope, who in his great humility as you were, gave up his position so that others who are more capable of the great ministry can help accomplish the works that he has begun. St. Peter Damian, we also ask you to pray for Monsignor William Goh, who will be ordained as a bishop tomorrow, that he will be always strong and empowered by the Holy Spirit in his ministry. Amen.

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Thursday, 21 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 7 : 7-12

Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks. Would any of you give a stone to your son, when he asks for bread? Or give him a snake, when he asks for a fish?

As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you : there you have the Law and the Prophets.

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Thursday, 21 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor (Psalm)

Psalm 137 : 1-2a, 2bc-3, 7c-8

I thank You, o Lord, with all my heart, for You have heard the word of my lips. I sing Your praise in the presence of the gods. I bow down towards Your holy temple and give thanks to Your Name.

For Your love and faithfulness, for Your word which exceeds everything. You answered me when I called, You restored my soul and made me strong.

With Your right hand You deliver me. How the Lord cares for me! Your kindness, o Lord, endures forever. Forsake not the work of Your hands.

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Thursday, 21 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor (First Reading)

Esther 4 : 17 n, p-r, aa-bb, gg-hh (Vulgate Bible : Esther 14 : 1, 3-5, 12-14)

Seized with anguish in her fear of death, Queen Esther likewise had recourse to the Lord. Then she prayed to the Lord God of Israel : “My Lord, You who stand alone, come to my help; I am alone and have no help but You. Through my own choice I am endangering my life. As a child I was wont to hear from the people of the land of my forebears that You, o Lord, chose Israel from among all peoples, and our fathers from among their ancestors to be Your lasting heritage; that You did for them, all that You have promised.”

“Remember us, Lord; revel Yourself in the time of our calamity. Give me courage, King of gods and master of all power. Make my words persuasive when I face the lion; turn his heart against our enemy, that the latter and his like may be brought to their end. Save us by Your hand; help me who am alone and have none but You, o Lord.”